New York Institute of Technology

How to reach a world wide web of technologists

NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) has five schools and two colleges, all with an emphasis on technology and applied scientific research. NYIT offers 100 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. NYIT engaged Happy Cog to assist with a branding update and website redesign, tightly integrated into a vibrant experience that positions NYIT as a leader in innovation and technology.

At NYIT, it’s possible for students to start their studies in one country and continue them in another, providing an enhanced, multicultural experience. With 50 global campuses, our biggest challenge was clearly communicating academic options per location and field.

Industry

Awards

Slimming navigation options to what students are looking for, the three As—About, Academics, Admissions—eliminated the need to stuff every option into a hamburger menu.

The previous website struggled to delineate paths and explain the importance of matriculating students who share a passion for global citizenry and technology. Edgelessness, then, came to define the experience: typical .edu navigational bloat was reduced to the essentials, the three As—About, Academics, Admissions—while pathways were braided together by the content strategy and page-level architectures.

The whole project, the whole way it came together, was surprising.

—Nancy Donner, VP Marketing, NYIT

Nancy Donner on what it was like working with Happy Cog on the NYIT website redesign.

The school’s dynamism inspires the graphic language, where a measured use of depth, bright colors, interrupted borders, video loops, and animated statistics regulates rhythm. At a time when webfonts are de rigueur, a fresh take on tried-and-true system fonts affords greater investment in memorable moments achievable only in code.

A flexible grid provides structure while achieving a sense of depth and dynamism rarely seen among higher-ed websites.

Above all, performance is everything. Increasingly, students access the web via their phones, and a beautiful website fails if it’s burdensome. Nothing in the experience is lost between devices, underscoring our commitment to design that puts people first.